November 2, 2018
Daesh Tunnel near Al-Zab (DD Nov 2)
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
Iraq
UNAMI data show violence in Iraq at lowest level since 2012. [..]
CTS, supported by Coalition warplanes, kill 16 Daesh fighters in Al-Qa’im. [..]
Daesh says it tried to assassinate Salahuddin Governor, killed or wounded bodyguards. [..]
12 Daesh suspects arrested in southern Salahuddin. [..]
IFP raids 3 tunnels in Hawija, nets 2 suspects, Daesh laptop, & weapons cache. [..]
IFP, with air support, kills 19 Daesh fighters in eastern Makhmur. [..]
Assyrian leader says 70,000 Christians have returned to Ninewa, 50,000 have not. [..]
Army-led operation to clear Daesh from the Hatra desert begins. [..]
Turkey
Turkey leaders insist Khashoggi murder directed from very high level. [..]
Syria
Guterres issues clear warning to Syria not to use chemical weapons again. [..]
SOHR reports US troops deploying along Syrian border as Turkey continues bombarding Tal Abyad. [..]
Coalition takes out 6 Daesh leaders with airstrike on Hajin. [..]
Other countries
Iran/United States: Renewed US oil sanctions on Iran will begin Monday. [..]
Egypt: Daesh attacks Christian bus riders in Sohag in southern Egypt, kills at least 7. [..]
Afghanistan: Taliban leader in Ghazni, 11 other Daesh, killed by US airstrike. [..]
Pakistan: “Father of the Taliban” killed in Pakistan. [..]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
Anti-Daesh campaign
UNAMI said that 63 Iraqis were killed and 90 wounded in explosions and violent incidents in October, compared to 75 killed and 179 wounded in September. The October figure is the smallest since UNAMI started counting in 2012. Ninewa Province had the most casualties at 29 killed and 36 wounded; Baghdad came second at 29 killed and 35 wounded; and following was Anbar at 5 killed and 19 wounded. [Anadolu] In the recent past, the deadliest province in these monthly compilations has been Baghdad.
BAGHDAD
North (Tarmiya, Taji, etc.)
Baghdad Ops Command says that the 17th Army Division found an explosives cache in Fahhama, and arrested 9 persons for other criminal charges in various parts of Baghdad. [Etejah]
East (Sadr City, New Baghdad, etc.)
A security source said that a civilian was wounded on Friday by unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle in the area of Umm Al-Kabar, Sadr City. [Sumaria]
West (Mansour, Abu Ghraib, etc.)
A police source said that a civilian was shot and killed by unidentified armed men in the Al-Nasr wa Al-Salam neighborhood in Abu Ghraib. [Sumaria]
Total Baghdad security incidents reported: 3 (Includes only incidents reported)
Total IED security incidents reported: 0
ANBAR
Falluja
The Center for Security Information said on Friday that units under Anbar Ops Command had arrested a wanted terrorist in Albu Ali Al-Jassem. [Ghad]
Ramadi
The MoD says that intelligence units in the 10th Army Division arrested 2 Daesh operatives wanted on terrorism charges in Albu Assaf, northwest of Ramadi. [MoD Website]
The Center for Security Information said on Friday that units under Anbar Ops Command had found and destroyed 82 IEDs in Albu Hassan and found 14 IEDs and 3 explosive devices made with C4 in Malahma, north of the Euphrates. [Ghad]
Al-Qa’im
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) units, supported by Coalition planes, killed 16 Daesh terrorists, including a commander, in an operation west of Al-Qa’im city. The source said the terrorists sneaked over from the Syrian side of the border. The CTS did not sustain any casualties. The source sent us photos of the results of the operation.
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that tribal PMFs and a PMF “special unit” killed 4 Daesh terrorists, captured 2, and confiscated a machine gun-mounted vehicle and medium weapons in an ambush near Ain Sadid village. The source said that after the ambush, a Daesh local commander called the PMFs, through a wireless device confiscated by the PMFs, and threated revenge.
Baiji
Daesh said it killed or wounded several bodyguards of the Salahuddin Governor and destroyed a vehicle after targeting his convoy with an IED in the Siniya area, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2] [A3maq]
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that PMF units captured a man near Zuwiya who was delivering food supplies to Daesh terrorists in the Makhoul Mountains area. The source said that the man, who has family members with Daesh, was also delivering names of tribal PMF numbers and information about PMF military positions. The source said that many people in Al-Naml village (in Shirqat) and Al-Salman village have family members with Daesh, and are providing the terrorists with information and logistical support.
DaeshDaily comment. This is one of the major problems with the return of members of Daesh families to their areas. Some of the family members of Daesh fighters are themselves Daesh supporters, conceding that most probably are not. Those people continue to provide Daesh with information, hideouts, and supplies as soon as they return. However, excluding all the members of all Daesh families is impractical, and it is often unknown as to which are the Daesh operatives. So some innocent people have been excluded from returning home while some guilty people have managed to get back in. A certain amount of corruption and deal-making has complicated the process. So far, there has been no definitive solution to this problem in any of the liberated areas.
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that tribal PMF units captured 2 Daesh terrorists hiding in a tunnel under a house in Thirthar village, in the desert west of Baiji and Siniya. The source said the PMFs also confiscated mortar shells and a motorcycle from the house. The source said one of the men captured used to be a senior Daesh official in Baaj before the liberation.
Daesh said it killed or wounded PMF members and destroyed their vehicle with an IED in the Siniya area, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2]
Daesh said it destroyed a vehicle carrying PMF members with an IED in Al-Tamim neighborhood, in Baiji city, on Thursday. [A3maq]
Tikrit
Daesh said it killed or wounded tribal PMF members and destroyed their vehicle with an IED in the Jazeera Tikrit area, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2]
Daesh said it killed or wounded tribal PMF members and destroyed their vehicle with an IED in the Al-Hamra village area, northern Tikrit, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2]
Daesh said it killed four Oil Facilities Protection members and wounded two others in an attack on their military positions in Allas Oilfield, on Thursday. [A3maq] [ICDNNov2]
Daesh said it wounded Oil Facilities Protection members, including an officer, and damaged their Humvee with an IED in Allas Oilfield, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2]
Southern Salahuddin (Balad, Dujail)
The Center for Security Information says that units under Samarra Ops Command found a Daesh hideout, which was furnished and contained cooking equipment, in the town of Sayed Gharib, Dujail District. They also destroyed 5 IEDS and arrested 12 wanted persons, including persons wanted on terrorism charges, in the pipeline area. [Sumaria] [AIN] [PUKMedia]
DIYALA
Central Diyala (Muqdadiya/Abu Saida)
Daesh said it severely wounded an officer after targeting an Iraqi Army patrol with light weapons in Al-A’ali village, near Muqdadiya, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2]
Northern Diyala (Kifri, Khanaqin, Khalis north)
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that IFP units captured a man from Hawija who was transporting clothes and food supplies to Daesh terrorists in the Himrin Mountains area. The source said the man, whose brother is a Daesh commander, told them that around 200 Daesh terrorists, who fled from Mtaibija in eastern Salahuddin and from northern Kirkuk, went to the Himrin Mountains recently. The man also admitted that the terrorists, who are facing a shortage in food supplies, are paying large amounts of money to smugglers. He said that the leader of the terrorists is a British citizen of Moroccan origins. The source sent us a photo of the captured man.
Daesh said it killed a “French soldier” and two Peshmerga members and wounded another after targeting their patrol with machine guns near Balkanah village in Khanaqin (though Daesh said it’s in Tooz). [ICDNNov2] ]A3maq]
Mizher Al-Azzawi, Diyala Ops Commander, says that security personnel arrested persons responsible for planting and detonating IEDs in Khanaqin. This follows a study of the recent crime scene in Baba Mahmoud, where an IED exploded. Additionally, a terrorist was killed in Muqdadiya. [Rudaw]
Daesh said on Friday it wounded two PMF members with an IED in Jizani village, near Udhaim. [A3maq]
KIRKUK
Dibis
The Center for Security Information said on Friday that a weapons and explosives cache had been found between the Sargaran subdistrict of Dibis and Al-Zab subdistrict in northern Hawija. [Sumaria]
Hawija (Riyadh, Al-Zab, etc.)
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that IFP units killed 2 Daesh terrorists and confiscated weapons, IEDs, explosives vests, and ammunition in a raid on 3 tunnels in the Al-Zab area. The source said the units also found a laptop that contains Daesh info in one of the tunnels. The source sent us photos of the results of the raid.
The IFP Command says in a statement that the 3rd Special Forces Brigade of the IFP found and destroyed 53 IEDS during a search operation in 5 villages in Hawija. [Sumaria]
The Ministry of Electricity says that an IED exploded, wounding a staff member of the northern area Directorate of Transit [of electric power]. The IED was placed near tower 59, in Hawija. [Sumaria] [SotIraq]
Daesh said it killed or wounded tribal PMF members and destroyed their vehicle with an IED in Al-Mastoura village, west of Hawija city, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2]
Daesh said it destroyed a vehicle carrying PMF members with an IED in the Al-Fatha area of Riyadh subdistrict, on Thursday. [A3maq]
Daesh said it killed or wounded Oil Facilities Protection members and damaged their vehicle with an IED in Mahmudiya village, east of Hawija, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2]
Southwest (Daquq, Taza, etc.)
Daesh said it targeted an IFP military position with mortars in 7 Nisan village, near Rashad, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2]
Daesh said on Friday it damaged a vehicle carrying PMF members with an IED in Zanqar village, in Daquq District. [A3maq]
Daesh said on Friday it damaged an IFP armored personnel carrier with an IED near the Turkmen village of Bashir, in Taza subdistrict. [A3maq]
NINEWA
Makhmur
General Raed Shakir Jawdat, IFP Commander, says that the 3rd IFP Division, with aerial support, attacked and killed 19 Daesh fighters in Qara Buteq, eastern Makhmur. [Sumaria] [Sumaria]
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that IFP and PMF units, supported by the IAA, started a military campaign to clear the Qarachogh Mountain area. The source said the units killed 33 Daesh terrorists, including 16 from Arab countries and a French terrorist. The source said the units destroyed many Daesh safehouses and tunnels, and confiscated weapons and food supplies. The source sent us photos of the results of the operations.
Nineveh Plain (Hamdaniya, Tel Keif, Bashiqa)
Yonadam Kanna, Secretary-General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, says that although 70,000 Christians have returned to their liberated areas in the north of Ninewa, some concerns and lack of services are impeding the remaining IDPs from returning. He says that 120,000 Christians left their homes following the Daesh occupation of the area. [Anadolu] [PressIraq]
Daesh said on Friday it wounded three IFP members and damaged their vehicle with an IED in Ali Awa village, in Al-Khazer. [A3maq]
Mosul city
The MoI says that security personnel arrested 6 Daesh operatives, all of whom were in Daesh’s “Office of Soldiers” (i.e., Ministry of Defense) in 5 different areas of west Mosul. [Baghdadia]
Mosul District
South (Shura/Qayara)
Daesh said it wounded a PMF member and damaged a vehicle with an IED in Rasif village, in Shura, on Thursday. [A3maq]
Daesh said it set on fire a PMF oil tanker near Najma oilfield, in Qayara, on Thursday. [ICDNNov2]
Western Ninewa
Tal Afar
A military source says that Army units engaged a group of Daesh infiltrators in Rabi’a subdistrict. 4 soldiers and 2 Daesh attackers were killed before the attackers withdrew to an unidentified location. [BasNews] [Qasioun]
Southern Ninewa
Hatra
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that joint Iraqi Army and PMF units started an operation to clear the southern Hatra desert. The source said the units killed 7 Daesh terrorists and destroyed several tunnels.
DaeshDaily comment. The involvement of the regular Army is the key information here, as successive PMF militias have not been able to clear this area, which is part of a Daesh infiltration route through the desert to and from Syria.
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that two PMF members were killed and four others wounded when a Daesh suicide terrorist blew himself up near Hatra. The source said the PMFs were clearing the area when the terrorist came out of a tunnel and attacked their patrol.
Baaj
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that “hundreds” of PMF fighters arrived in the Tal Safouk area to monitor the border with Syria, after the Daesh advances in eastern Deir Ez-Zor.
A DaeshDaily source said on Friday that four PMF members, including a commander, were killed in a Daesh attack in the Tal Safouk area. The source said the terrorists came from the Syrian side of the border.
KURDISTAN NEWS
No reports
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READER COMMENTS
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REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Political developments
Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan’s AKP, said that the Khashoggi murder could not have occurred without “orders from a high level,” and reiterated Turkey’s demand that the Saudis turn over the 18 Saudi nationals in their custody in connection with the case, to face trial in Turkey. [Al-Monitor]
President Erdogan wrote in a Washington Post op-ed on Friday that the order to kill Khashoggi had come from the highest level of the Saudi government, saying that the international community had a responsibility to “reveal the puppet masters” behind the killing. [AP] [WaPo]
Yasin Aktay, an advisor to President Erdogan, told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet that Jamal Khashoggi had been strangled soon after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, and that his body was then cut into pieces and dissolved with acid or another chemical agent. The Washington Post, Khashoggi’s former byline, also reported that his body had been dissolved. [Independent]
Foreign policy
On Friday, Turkey and the US lifted sanctions against one another that had been imposed in August. The US Treasury Department announced in a statement that they were lifting sanctions against Turkish Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu and Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul. Reciprocally, Turkey lifted sanctions against AG Jeff Sessions and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. [Anadolu]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
NATIONAL NEWS
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said to the UN Security Council that outstanding issues had consistently been reported regarding the Syrian chemical weapons program, and that declarations by the Syrian government regarding chemical weapons disarmament “could not be considered accurate and complete.” Guterres added that any further use of chemical weapons in Syria would be “totally unacceptable” and that the international community could not allow such attacks to occur with impunity. [Qasioun]
Northwest
Afrin
The YPG says that it killed 5 fighters from Faylaq Al-Sham (“Sham Legion”), of the Turkish-backed “Free Syrian Army,” in Shirawa subdistrict, Afrin, after destroying their vehicle. [EnabBaladi] [Hawar]
Northeast
Raqqa
North Raqqa (Ayn Eissa, Tal Abyad, etc.)
The SOHR noted continued Turkish shelling of Tal Abyad city, by the Raqqa-Turkey border, killing a child and wounding two journalists, among other civilians. The shelling came before the deployment of US forces along the border. The US is reportedly trying to contain the situation by starting joint patrols with Turkey in Manbij, and by deploying in Kobane and other border areas. [SyriaHR]
Raqqa city & district
Daesh said on Friday it killed a pro-SDF Arab tribal leader with a silenced gun on Al-Noor Street, in Raqqa city. [ICDNNov2] [A3maq]
West Raqqa (Tabaqa, etc.)
Daesh said it shot and killed two SDF members at Qarin intersection in Tabaqa, on Thursday. [A3maq]
Central and West
Idlib
Eight civilians, including one Iraqi refugee and 4 Syrian IDPs, were killed by Syrian Army artillery shelling of Jarjanaz town, Maarat Al-Numan subdistrict. The artillery also shelled Al-Tah town, Hish subdistrict. [ElDorar]
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Albu Kamal District
The SOHR says that Coalition planes attacked Daesh targets east of the Euphrates, while the SDF continued mobilizing troops in preparation for an assault to recover areas it lost to Daesh in the past few days.
While Coalition and SDF rocket and artillery shelling continues, Iraqi shelling is also taking place on Daesh positions from across the border. 200 Arab fighters from the Al-Thuwar militia are also expected to join the SDF in the area shortly. [SyriaHR]
A group of SDF engaged a unit of the “Elite Force” (an Arab SDF unit) near a checkpoint in Al-Bahra, near Hajin, following a Kurdish SDF unit’s attempt to remove the Syrian revolutionary flag at the checkpoint. Several fighters on both sides were wounded. This is the second such fight since last May. US forces hurried to the area to resolve the conflict. [ZamanAlWasl]
DaeshDaily source said on Friday that Coalition planes killed 6 Daesh senior leaders in an airstrike on a meeting in a house in Hajin. The source said one of those killed, a Moroccan terrorist calling himself Abu Suhaib, was responsible for “barid Al-Khilafa” (the Caliphate post.)
DaeshDaily comment. With Daesh losing almost all its territory, the Albu Kamal area has become the refuge for many senior Daesh senior leaders. Albu Kamal, alongside west Anbar, could also be considered the actual birthplace of AQI, and later Daesh.
South
Daraa/Quneitra
Three civilians were killed by a mine, apparently placed by the Syrian Army, which exploded on the road connecting Da’el and Othman in Daraa. The 3 were in a civilian car on the road. [Qasioun]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Iran
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed on Friday that the US would reinstate oil sanctions on Iran starting next Monday. The 2 men noted that the sanctions would exclude certain countries from participating in the sanctions, but noted that EU countries were not among those granted an exemption. Earlier Friday, Fatih Donmez, the Minister of Energy for Turkey, said that Turkey was among those countries excluded from US sanctions on Iran. [Rudaw]
North Africa
Egypt
Egyptian media says that armed men in a 4WD vehicle opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in Sohag, who were heading to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor in Minya. Early reports said that five civilians were killed; later reports said that at least seven were killed and between 12 and 20 wounded. This follows a similar attack less than a year ago that left 29 Copts dead. [Anadolu] [Anadolu] [AhlMisr] [AhlMisr] [RT]
Later on Friday, Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack. [Ghad] [AhlMisr]
Daesh said on Friday it killed 13 Egyptian Christian people and wounded 18 when a group of its terrorists targeted 3 buses on their way to a Church in Minya. Daesh claimed the attack was revenge for “Muslim women” who were arrested by Egyptian security forces.
DaeshDaily comment. Using women in terrorist activities is another dirty “win-win” trick by Daesh. Daesh women deliver weapons and IEDs, they distribute money, they promote Daesh propaganda, and they even conduct terrorist attacks. And if they get caught, Daesh would claim that governments are targeting “Muslim women” without mentioning the reason for that. It was a very successful tactic in Iraq. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Ninewa, Anbar, and Salahuddin in 2014 demanding the release of Daesh women. It was one of the reasons for the “uprising” that ended with Daesh taking over large parts of Iraq. Daesh is using the same tactic in Egypt, without telling us what the relationship is between government units capturing women for terrorism, and Daesh attacking buses full of innocent people going to a church.
Tunisia
The Tunisian National Guard and other security personnel searched areas near Mount Al-Sha’anbi (aka Jebel ech Chambi), in Kasserine Governorate, western Tunisia, after receiving information that a terrorist group was occupying an abandoned house near the mountain. [Tunisien]
REPORTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
ASIA
Afghanistan
The Taliban shadow governor for Ghazni Province, southeast Afghanistan, was killed in a US airstrike, along with 11 other Taliban fighters. [Khaama]
Pakistan
Pakistani police said on Friday that the cleric Maulana Sami-Ul-Haq, widely known as the “Father of the Taliban,” was killed in a knife attack in his home. Sami-Ul-Haq’s son said that his father had been stabbed several times while his driver was out of the house. [Anadolu] [Khaama]
